IRS Launches New Global Program to Target ‘High Wealth Individuals'

CNSNews.com ^ | April 06, 2010 | Penny Starr

[Man50D]

The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new global program to target what it calls “high wealth individuals,” IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said Monday.

“Through our new global high wealth operating unit we are taking a unified look at the entire web of business and economic entities controlled by high wealth individuals so we can better assess the risk such arrangements pose to tax compliance,” Shulman said at the National Press Club on Monday.

Shulman said the IRS is using “our robust and evolving enforcement program that ensures that everyone pays what they owe.”

The IRS initiated its Global High Wealth Industry group in the fall. Schulman told an October 26 meeting of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that it would be part of “the globalization of tax administration,” which he called a “game changing trend” in tax enforcement.

“This brings me to another important development--a game-changing trend--the globalization of tax administration,” said Shulman.

“While we are in the early stages of this work, this new unit will centralize and focus IRS compliance expertise involving high-wealth individuals and their related entities – which can often have an international component,” Shulman said. “Tax agencies around the world, including those in Japan, Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia, have also formed high wealth groups.

“Now, high wealth individuals are not your typical Form 1040 filers with a W-2, some 1099 income, and maybe a Schedule C enclosed with their return,” Shulman said. “And you cannot assess compliance among the nation’s wealthiest individuals by looking only at their 1040s. Their tax picture is much more complicated than this.

“For a variety of reasons – including valid business reasons – many high wealth individuals make use of sophisticated financial, business, and investment arrangements with complicated legal structures and tax consequences,” Shulman said. “Many of these arrangements are entirely above board. Others mask aggressive tax strategies.”

Shulman also mentioned the program at the George Washington University International Tax Conference in December.

“So what’s our game plan here?” Shulman said. “At least initially, we will be looking at individuals with tens of millions of dollars of assets or income. Going forward, we will take a unified look at the entire web of business entities controlled by a high wealth individual, which will enable us to better assess the risk such arrangements pose to tax compliance and the integrity of our tax system.

“We want to better understand the entire economic picture of the enterprise controlled by the wealthy individual and to assess the tax compliance of that overall enterprise,” he said. “We cannot do this by continuing to approach each tax return in the enterprise as a single and separate entity. We must understand and analyze the entire picture.

“Over the past few months, we have begun hiring some agents and specialists, such as flow-through specialists and international examiners, to conduct examinations of high wealth individuals and their related enterprises,” Shulman said.

“In due course, we will grow the new unit by adding examination agents and individuals with specialized skills and expertise, such as economists to identify economic trends, appraisal experts to advise on valuation issues, and technical advisors to provide industry or specialized tax expertise,” Shulman said. “We will also build new risk assessment techniques to identify high income and high wealth individuals and their related enterprises that should be reviewed holistically.”

At the press club event, Shulman also touted the IRS amnesty program that has allowed U.S. citizens with untaxed assets abroad to come forward, pay back taxes and fines, but not face jail time. He said some 15,000 people have come forward to admit they have not paid taxes on accounts and other assets in other countries.

[Man50D]

It's time to end the encroaching thug like tactics of the IRS by passing The Fair Tax Act(HR25/S296) that will replace all federal income taxes with a national sales tax and abolishes the IRS!

[Man50D]

Fair Tax ping!

[Tainan]

"For a variety of reasons – including valid business reasons – many high wealth individuals make use of sophisticated financial, business, and investment arrangements with complicated legal structures and tax consequences,” Shulman said. “Many of these arrangements are entirely above board. Others mask aggressive tax strategies.”

Damn right about "aggressive tax strategies"...ya bastid.
The IRS - You're gyuilty until we say you're innocent...and we never say You're innocent!

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[Texas resident]

Are they going to target high wealth targets like tim geithner and charlie rangel?

[C210N]

After hearing this news, George Soros is huddled in some corner, cowering and shivering. /sarc

[Paige]

GLOBAL???????? The IRS has been out of control, but with MARXIST in office this has to be stopped.

[DeaconRed]

"Are they going to target high wealth targets like tim geithner and charlie rangel?"

THE MSM left out one important part.

IRS TARGETS RICH INDIVIDUALS REPUBLICANS
There I fixed it. . . .

[browniexyz]

I understand there are MILLIONS of federal employees who haven’t paid their taxes — let’s start with them, why not? Probably lots of them work for the IRS!!!

[browniexyz]

And target Nancy Pelosi and her MR? Doubtful.....

[BitWielder1]

From Wikipedia:
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, from Greek kleptes (thieves) and kratos (rule), is a term applied to a government that takes advantage of governmental corruption to extend the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats), via the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of the wider population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service. The term means "rule by thieves". Not an "official" form of government (such as democracy, republic, monarchy, theocracy) the term is a pejorative for governments perceived to have a particularly severe and systemic problem with the selfish misappropriation of public funds by those in power.

[Texas resident]

obama’s army

[RayChuang88]

And you wonder why the Tea Party movement continues to gain in strength and many Tea Party member now embrace FairTax, not only to bring back the US economy but also stop the most insidious form of corruption in Washington, DC--the buying and selling of income tax credits that could affect as little as ONE taxpayer.

[Venturer]

I will bet they wont do anything with Soros.

This is more Socialism.

I am not saying that the rich should be allowed to hide their wealth , but my belief is that this sint about making folks pay what they owe, but about Socialism.

[ThunderSleeps]

Shulman said the IRS is using “our robust and evolving enforcement program that ensures that everyone pays what they owe.”

So, guilty until proven (ha) innocent? They'll investigate everyone based on their apparent or suspected income, looking for something that may or may not be there. Their only "crime" to merit such an investigation? The appearance of success.

The socialists are demonizing and criminalizing success.

And they wonder why the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) movement is gaining ground so fast...

[theBuckwheat]

We must stuff Leviathan back into his cage before he finishes putting us in it instead. The income tax destroys financial privacy and justifies chasing US Persons around the world for the last scrap of of tax revenue. Government even taxes us by diluting the value of our money and then taxing us for the “gain” in the the numerical dollar value of what assets we manage to buy. It levies a 28% tax on the “gain” in the price of gold we buy, so it gets to exploit us for its own inflation.

I can no longer sing our National Anthem, for we are no longer the land of the free.

[listenhillary]

Many of these arrangements are entirely above board. Others mask aggressive tax strategies.”

Aggressive tax strategies are to be made illegal? Fighting to legally retain every penny to be made a crime?

Slippery wording there.

[Little Ray]

Geez. This sounds more like an extortion ring or a protection racket than a government agency.

[Outlaw Woman]

Gee I wonder if George Soros, Buffet and Hollywood communists will be examined as well.

[maine-iac7]

the integrity of our tax system.